[1] The proposal for an entourage of Cuban exiles to visit Cuba was first raised at the Instituto de Estudios Cubanos in 1974 by Lourdes Casal.

[2] The travelers of the Antonio Maceo Brigade was a collection of 55 Cuban exiles, from the United States, Mexico, and Spain, headed by Lourdes Casal and Marifeli Pérez-Stable.

The brigade only accepted members who had left Cuba in their youth through parental decision and did not participate in anti-Castro activities while in the United States.

Many of the members were children of Operation Pedro Pan and had been active in social movements in the United States as well as having garnered sympathies for the Cuban government.

This desire sprouted from the dual rejection they faced from both right-wing Cuban exiles and left-wing North Americans.

[3] The visit was recorded by Cuban filmmakers and released in the film 55 Hermanos which detailed the visitors searches for cultural and political identity, as well as the suffering their exile has caused.

The Cuban government was uncomfortable with the beliefs and cultural practices many travelers held and tried to instill ideological purity tests in the organization.